Thursday, 27 July 2017

On the sixth extinction

Human
beings are now waging war against life itself as we continue to
destroy not just individual lives, local populations and entire
species in vast numbers but also destroy the ecological systems that
make life on Earth possible.

By
doing this we are now accelerating the sixth mass extinction event in
Earth’s history and virtually eliminating any prospect of human
survival.

‘Earth’s
sixth mass extinction is more severe than perceived when looking
exclusively at species extinctions…. That conclusion is based on
analyses of the numbers and degrees of range contraction … using a
sample of 27,600 vertebrate species, and on a more detailed analysis
documenting the population extinctions between 1900 and 2015 in 177
mammal species.’

Their
research found that the rate of population loss in terrestrial
vertebrates is ‘extremely high’ – even in ‘species of low
concern’.

In
their sample, comprising nearly half of known vertebrate species, 32%
(8,851 out of 27,600) are decreasing; that is, they have decreased in
population size and range. In the 177 mammals for which they had
detailed data, all had lost 30% or more of their geographic ranges
and more than 40% of the species had experienced severe population
declines. Their data revealed that ‘beyond global species
extinctions Earth is experiencing a huge episode of population
declines and extirpations, which will have negative cascading
consequences on ecosystem functioning and services vital to
sustaining civilization. We describe this as a “biological
annihilation” to highlight the current magnitude of Earth’s
ongoing sixth major extinction event.’

Lions
in South and East Africa, like this male cat in Botswana, are better
known than their cousins in West Africa, which tend to be smaller and
are now highly endangered. (Source: PETE OXFORD, NATURE PICTURE
LIBRARY/CORBIS)

Illustrating
the damage done by dramatically reducing the historic geographic
range of a species, consider the lion. Panthera leo ‘was
historically distributed over most of Africa, southern Europe, and
the Middle East, all the way to northwestern India. It is now
confined to scattered populations in sub-Saharan Africa and a remnant
population in the Gir forest of India. The vast majority of lion
populations are gone.’

Why
is this happening? Ceballos, Ehrlich and Dirzo tell us:

‘In
the last few decades, habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive
organisms, pollution, toxification, and more recently climate
disruption, as well as the interactions among these factors, have led
to the catastrophic declines in both the numbers and sizes of
populations of both common and rare vertebrate species.’

Further,
however, the authors warn

‘But
the true extent of this mass extinction has been underestimated,
because of the emphasis on species extinction.’

This
underestimate can be traced to overlooking the accelerating
extinction of local populations of a species.

‘Population
extinctions today are orders of magnitude more frequent than species
extinctions. Population extinctions, however, are a prelude to
species extinctions, so Earth’s sixth mass extinction episode has
proceeded further than most assume.’

Moreover,
and importantly from a narrow human perspective, the massive loss of
local populations is already damaging the services ecosystems provide
to civilization (which, of course, are given no value by government
and corporate economists).

As
Ceballos, Ehrlich and Dirzo remind us:

‘When
considering this frightening assault on the foundations of human
civilization, one must never forget that Earth’s capacity to
support life, including human life, has been shaped by life itself.’

When
public mention is made of the extinction crisis, it usually focuses
on a few (probably iconic) animal species known to have gone extinct,
while projecting many more in future. However, a glance at their maps
presents a much more realistic picture: as much as 50% of the number
of animal individuals that once shared Earth with us are already
gone, as are billions of populations.

Furthermore,
they claim that their analysis is conservative given the increasing
trajectories of those factors that drive extinction together with
their synergistic impacts.

‘Future
losses easily may amount to a further rapid defaunation of the globe
and comparable losses in the diversity of plants, including the local
(and eventually global) defaunation-driven coextinction of plants.’

They
conclude with the chilling observation:

‘Thus,
we emphasize that the sixth mass extinction is already here and the
window for effective action is very short.’

Of
course, it is too late for those species of plants, birds, animals,
fish, amphibians, insects and reptiles that humans have already
driven to extinction or will yet drive to extinction in the future.
200 species yesterday. 200 species today. 200 species tomorrow. 200
species the day after…. And, as Ceballos, Ehrlich and Dirzo
emphasize, the ongoing daily extinctions of a myriad local
populations.

If
you think that the above information is bad enough in assessing the
prospects for human survival, you will not be encouraged by awareness
or deeper consideration of even some of the many variables adversely
impacting our prospects that were beyond the scope of the above
study.

While
Ceballos, Ehrlich and Dirzo, in addition to the problems they noted
which are cited above, also identified the problems of human
overpopulation and continued population growth, as well as
overconsumption (based on ‘the fiction that perpetual growth can
occur on a finite planet’) and even the risks posed by nuclear war,
there were many variables that were beyond the scope of their
research.

For
example, in a recent discussion of that branch of ecological science
known as ‘Planetary Boundary Science’, Dr
Glen Barry identified
‘at least ten global ecological catastrophes which threaten to
destroy the global ecological system and portend an end to human
beings, and perhaps all life. Ranging from nitrogen deposition to
ocean acidification, and including such basics as soil, water, and
air; virtually every ecological system upon which life depends is
failing’. See ‘The
End of Being: Abrupt Climate Change One of Many Ecological Crises
Threatening to Collapse the Biosphere’.

Apart
from the above, there is a host of other critical issues – such as
destruction of the Earth’s rainforests, destruction of waterways
and the ocean habitat and the devastating impact of animal
agriculture for meat consumption – that international governmental
organizations such as the UN, national governments and multinational
corporations will continue to refuse to decisively act upon because
they are controlled by the insane global elite. See ‘The
Global Elite is Insane’ with
more fully elaborated explanations in ‘Why
Violence?’ and ‘Fearless
Psychology and Fearful Psychology: Principles and Practice’.

So
time may be short, the number of issues utterly daunting and the
prospects for life grim. But if, like me, you are inclined to fight
to the last breath, I invite you to consider making a deliberate
choice to take powerful personal action in the fight for our
survival.

If
you are involved in (or considering becoming involved in) a local
campaign to address a climate issue, end some manifestation of war
(or even all war), or to halt any other threat to our environment, I
encourage you to consider doing this on a strategic basis.
See Nonviolent
Campaign Strategy.

We
might be annihilating life on Earth but this is not something about
which we have no choice.

In
fact, each and every one of us has a choice: we can choose to do
nothing, we can wait for (or even lobby) others to act, or we can
take powerful action ourselves. But unless you search your heart and
make a conscious and deliberate choice to commit yourself to act
powerfully, your unconscious choice will effectively be the first one
(including that you might take some token measures and delude
yourself that these make a difference). And the annihilation of life
on Earth will continue, with your complicity.

Extinction
beckons. Will you choose powerfully?

Robert
J. Burrowes has
a lifetime commitment to understanding and ending human violence. He
has done extensive research since 1966 in an effort to understand why
human beings are violent and has been a nonviolent activist since
1981. He is the author of ‘Why
Violence?’ His
email address isflametree@riseup.net and
his website is here.